Although China is fast growing economically strong, the historical wounds left by foreign invasion, civil wars and national disasters over the last century have left a legacy of deep sense of insecurity, fear and distrust. Even those living in China’s more affluent cities thirst for something more than material comforts. Yue Zhang discovers a great deal of needs waiting to be addressed.
Recently I took part in an eight-month programme entitled Chinese in Action (CinA) initiated by Renjou Liu from Taiwan, who has worked full-time with Initiatives of Change over the last 27 years. The programme was founded on his vision to ‘train a group of young Chinese who have experienced personal change and are committed to working for an unselfish China by serving the world with a humble heart’. Feeling called by this vision, 12 of us, including four graduates of IofC’s Action for Life, joined the programme from November 2010 to July 2011.
We spent the first eight weeks training and team-building in Taiwan. After that we split into four teams to embark on field service, first in Taiwan and then in China mainland – eight weeks in each region. During the initial phase of training we had the chance to revisit the core values of IofC and practice daily quiet listening and, among other studies and training, learn some necessary skills to equip ourselves for the field service, such as learning how to give public speeches, deliver training workshops and engage in one-on-one dialogues with people in need.
One major thing we did during the field service was to conduct learning activities. The most frequently held workshop was on ‘sensitivity training and inner healing’. The positive responses that these workshops received were beyond my expectation. I realized there are indeed so many people in need. Especially those living in the more affluent cities in China thirst for something more than material comforts. While China is fast growing economically strong, her people are engulfed in a deep sense of insecurity, fear and distrust – a legacy of the historical wounds left by foreign invasion, civil wars and national disasters over the last centuries. A great deal of needs are waiting to be addressed.
During these workshops I had the chance to listen to many people’s life stories. Through listening to them I have learnt much about the difficulties and pain that many of my parents’ generation went through. ‘Poverty’ and ‘helplessness’ were the words that I heard most. Struggling to survive wars and starvation, they could not afford to mourn the death of their loved ones. Today these wounds of life and painful memories are impacting the lives of their children.
The younger generation, however, face different challenges. Thanks to our parents’ generation who worked so hard to provide us a much better life, there is no longer war and starvation. Yet the Chinese youth are burdened by the expectations of their parents. Many of them feel torn between living up to their parents’ expectations and living their own lives.
During a workshop in Shanghai attended by a group of doctorate students from a top university, we asked them to write letters to their parents. When they read them out, many of them cried because it revealed some hidden pain. When they were able to re-connect with their long-forgotten self, the process of inner healing began. What touched me so deeply was not so much the pain and suffering in their stories, but the inherent strength and the ability of each one of them to love and respect their own parents.
‘I have put aside my family problem for a long time,’ shared one participant. ‘I realized I have had a great deal of misunderstanding about my father. Just now I recalled some memories about my father, and they were not those my mother told me. I trust I can rebuild my relationship with dad.’
‘Your warmth has touched me,’ commented another participant. ‘I used to feel lonely, but now I can see that I have companions to walk with in my life … You helped me see the importance of knowing and understanding my family, and to learn how to do it.’
I have sailed a most amazing journey in these eight months. It is inspiring to witness change in people when they are able to experience healing in life. It is equally encouraging to see the desperate find a clear direction and regain their driving force in life. I believe that without healing our past wounds it is impossible to find inner peace and a genuine love for others. I was grateful to have played a small part in this healing process of many souls.
Yue Zhang
The author was born and brought up in Nanjing, mainland China, where she graduated in Financial Management from Nanjing University. Since encountering Initiatives of Change in 2006, she has taken part in various IofC training programmes in order to ‘explore the meaning of life’. Now married and living in Tainan, Taiwan, she says she will ‘continue to do my part in serving humanity’.
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